AhnLab, a leading cybersecurity company based in South Korea, has announced its partnership with the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), a security and cloud service enterprise fully funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), to establish a joint venture (JV) focused on cybersecurity. The agreement was unveiled on April 1 as AhnLab secured a local JV establishment contract with SITE.
Under the terms of the agreement, AhnLab will hold a 25% stake in the JV, with SITE holding the remaining 75%. The companies aim to complete the establishment of the JV within the first half of this year through joint investment.
This strategic move by AhnLab marks its expansion into the Middle East and North Africa region, leveraging the partnership with SITE. The JV is poised to offer AhnLab’s state-of-the-art security solutions, including the cloud and AI-based SaaS security threat analysis platform AhnLab XDR, to local government agencies and businesses in Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, the JV plans to provide AhnLab’s solutions and services in network security products to further strengthen cyber defenses in the region. An AhnLab spokesperson stated, “We plan to continuously expand our service offerings, including generative AI security and IoT/OT security.”
In tandem with the JV establishment, SITE will also reinforce its business cooperation with AhnLab through a stake investment. SITE Ventures, a subsidiary of SITE, will acquire a 10% stake in AhnLab. The investment amount is approximately 74.4 billion won, with the payment scheduled for June 27.
Upon completion of the investment, SITE Ventures will become the second-largest shareholder of AhnLab, holding a 10% stake. Currently, AhnLab’s largest shareholder is its founder, Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker, with an 18.57% stake, followed by The Circle Foundation, which holds a 9.99% stake.
Sukkyoon Kang, CEO of AhnLab, expressed optimism about the JV, stating, “This JV establishment signifies a long-term collaboration based on the strengths of both companies to grow together in the Middle East region.” He added, “Through this venture, we anticipate showcasing AhnLab’s cyber security, cloud, and AI capabilities in the Middle East, driving global revenue growth.”
